ISIS declares its own currency.

A statement on Wednesday by the al-Qaeda offshoot known as Isis, announced the launching of its new currency as a way to separate its self-declared proto-state encompassing northwest Iraq and northeast Syria from the “tyrannical financial system imposed on Muslims”.

The group also released a 17-minute audio recording purported to be of their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in an apparent effort to dispel rumours that he had been killed in recent air strikes. In the recording he referred to recent events that took place after announcements by the US of his presumed death – such as a pledge of allegiance by an Egyptian jihadi group. 

“Fighting is obligatory upon every individual,” he said in speech that called for new recruits and lambasted western countries and their Arab allies, especially the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “Jihad is the peak of deeds and the best of Islam.”

he speech also claimed that western powers “feared Muslims’ wealth and goods of our land, which they plunder”.

The recording did not disclose plans for the new currency but Abu Bilal al-Homsi, the nom de guerre of a Syrian activist who serves as a liaison to Isis, confirmed the veracity of the document announcing its launch. “This is a strike against the Crusader coalition, and it’s a victory that the Islamic State has an economy and is self-sufficient,” he said. 

But despite seeking to distance itself from the international economy, the new currency’s underpinnings may make Isis’s economy even more heavily dependent on global fluctuations than most, specifically on precious metal and commodity prices.

The speech also claimed that western powers “feared Muslims’ wealth and goods of our land, which they plunder”.

The recording did not disclose plans for the new currency but Abu Bilal al-Homsi, the nom de guerre of a Syrian activist who serves as a liaison to Isis, confirmed the veracity of the document announcing its launch. “This is a strike against the Crusader coalition, and it’s a victory that the Islamic State has an economy and is self-sufficient,” he said. 

But despite seeking to distance itself from the international economy, the new currency’s underpinnings may make Isis’s economy even more heavily dependent on global fluctuations than most, specifically on precious metal and prices.